


A Rain-Check on Redamancy

by youraveragemushroom



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (except they're in love), Confession, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Keith is with the Blade, M/M, Minor Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Post-Canon, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, allura is alive and thriving, idk how to tag things lol pls help, just bros who care for each other in a totally platonic way, lance is a guidance counselor of sorts at the garrison, nobody from team Voltron is dead or their s/o's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25987780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youraveragemushroom/pseuds/youraveragemushroom
Summary: Burnout these days usually came from working long nights at the Garrison. If Lance from five years ago could see himself today—working part-time to rebuild Earth and full-time as an instructor at the very same institution that gave him his crippling anxieties—he would probably shit a brick. Hell, five years ago he hadn’t even known aliens existed (although he always knew deep down that humans weren’t alone in the universe), and now he’s best friends with multiple! One of which had apparently texted him an hour ago.Forgoing proper texting procedure due to fatigue and general doneness, Lance tapped on the icon to call back.“Hello?” a familiar deep rasp answered from the other line.“Hey, mullet,” Lance replied, pushing aside the papers in front of him to lay his head down on the desk. “What’s cooking?”In which Lance finds himself ignoring how late it is and indulges himself in pining after Keith. Which becomes slightly more difficult when said object of his affections shows up in the middle of the night to rescue him from paperwork, stress, and the melancholy that came from being away from him.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 43
Kudos: 304
Collections: Just some pretty nice fics





	A Rain-Check on Redamancy

**Author's Note:**

> Redamancy: the act of loving in return   
> .  
> .  
> .  
> (i'm bad at titles lol just ignore that :,) )

Lance knew what burnout felt like. 

His years at the Garrison allowed him to acquaint himself well with the tired frustration that was born from all-nighters and frantically trying to keep up with his smart peers. Being shot into space and dropped in the middle of an intergalactic war didn’t help much, either. It was listening to Hunk and Pidge talk about some technological advancement and trying to keep his eyes from glazing over. It was listening to Coran and Allura discuss diplomatic proceedings of one of the millions of alien cultures they had knowledge of, trying to mimic Shiro’s focus. It was trying to learn Altean or fight the training bot, only to get his ass kicked because he was too stupid or too slow and couldn’t measure up. 

The adrenaline of trying to stay alive, however, usually subdued that feeling of mediocrity he felt when he was surrounded by geniuses and prodigies and fucking ace pilots. And, over the course of his time in space, whether it be mastering his bayard, piloting multiple lions, or becoming Voltron’s right hand, Lance found himself slowly putting himself back together from where he used to tear himself apart. He may not be the brightest, or the fastest, or even the most charming of the group, but he was definitely integral. At least, that’s what he told himself over and over again—his own personal mantra—in hopes that he might actually believe it one day. 

But that was years ago. Not many, but enough to look back and scoff at how inept he felt on the Castle of Lions. His fears, his insecurities, his unhealthy inclination to martyrdom—it had taken Lance years and a lot effort to unlearn those habits, but he’s thankful that he’s at a point in his life where he can reflect and not immediately be assaulted by tears or drown in those feelings again.

Burnout these days usually came from working long nights at the Garrison. If Lance from five years ago could see himself today—working part-time to rebuild Earth and full-time as an instructor at the very same institution that gave him his crippling anxieties—he would probably shit a brick. Hell, five years ago he hadn’t even known aliens existed (although he always knew deep down that humans weren’t alone in the universe), and now he’s best friends with multiple! One of which had apparently texted him an hour ago.

Forgoing proper texting procedure due to fatigue and general  _ doneness _ , Lance tapped on the icon to call back.

“Hello?” a familiar deep rasp answered from the other line.

“Hey, mullet,” Lance replied, pushing aside the papers in front of him to lay his head down on the desk. “What’s cooking?”

“Well, it’s past three in the morning, so nothing if I can help it,” Keith said, pausing. “I texted you an hour ago when Hunk told me you were still at work.”

“Yeah,” Lance said, his face pressed against the cool table. “I got it. Too tired to text, so I called you instead. Hope that’s alright.”

“Oh,” Keith uttered, softer. “Yeah, no, that’s fine. I just wanted to check up on you. You’ve seemed...tired, lately.”

Lance snorted. “Well, putting back together an entirely ravaged planet is a lot more work than you would expect, Keithy-boy. Not to mention it’s exam season, and the students are more stressed than ever. It’s like they all just realized simultaneously that the counselor’s office is open to them and decided to flood me en masse to talk about the stress of possible failure.”

Keith chuckled at that. “I mean, you can’t blame them. Who’s idea was it to make a government institution whose sole, thinly-veiled, purpose was to create a child militia for extra-terrestrialism, but not hire a professional counselor for when they inevitably get overwhelmed by it?”

“Right?!” Lance exclaimed, a little louder than he anticipated. “I’m just glad these kids are using their resources or whatever. I remember how hopeless everything felt back then, and I’d hate to see them feel that again despite the fact that I’m right here for them to vent at.”

“Your job is much more complicated than that, Lance,” Keith huffed, his signature eye-roll almost audible in his fond tone.

“I am a professional rant-listener and advice giver, buddy,” Lance retorted. “Sure, I give the kids resources and make sure nobody is in detrimental condition, but, like, the bulk of my work this entire week was just me listening to kids vent about Iverson being a hardass under the guise of student-teacher confidentiality. I was so tempted to join in, like, multiple times, dude. Alas, being a professional means I can only nod and say ‘mhm,’ instead of joining in on that sweet, sweet trash talking.”

Keith outright laughed at that, shuffling on his end. “You would think that after years of teaching and surviving an actual space-war that Iverson would try and stop traumatizing the cadets.”

“I have a theory he feeds on negative emotion, like a weird emotionally-thirsty vampire.” 

Keith laughed at that too, bringing a smile to Lance’s face. It had been a while since he saw Keith, both busy with their respective jobs. Lance was chained to his desk and ambassador jobs on Earth, while Keith was busy traveling with the Blade on intergalactic rescue missions. He stopped by every few months, to say hi to the team and see Shiro and Adam, but his visits had become shorter and rarer as of late. Lance still tried to make an effort to call him as often as he could—pester him, more like, as Keith would say—and every time Keith responded would send a rush down to Lance’s stomach. But no matter how hard he clung to his heroic best friend, he still felt the gaping miles of space between them.

“I’m sure your colleague wouldn’t be very happy with you talking about him like that behind his back,” Keith said as his laughter died down.

“Ugh,” Lance scoffed good-heartedly. “Don’t even remind me. I still can’t believe we’re technically coworkers. It feels like just last week he was terrorizing us with the simulators and manifesting new insecurities for me.”

“Time flies, huh? It really does feel like yesterday I was punching him in the face and running off into the desert looking for Shiro.”

Lance giggled at the image, shaking his head. “God, I still can’t believe seventeen-year-old you had the balls to do that. Really took one for the team there, didn’t you?”

Keith hummed. “He may have apologized once we got back to Earth, but I don’t regret it. He had it coming for him, and better it be me since I was en route to being booted anyway.”

“On behalf of what was supposed to be the entire class of 2081—you know, before the space-war kinda fucked us all over—thank you for that,” Lance said, stretching. He got up, needing to get the feeling back in his legs, deciding that a walk would help him clear his mind while he chatted with Keith.

“No problem,” Keith replied, huffing. “The fact that he’s still such a hardass only means it didn’t work as well as I thought it would and that I’m probably gonna have to punch him again when I get back.”

Lance laughed, leaving the breakroom for the empty halls. At this time of night (morning?), no one was supposed to be in the educational wings anymore. The cadets were all likely in their dorms (unless they snuck out into town, as Lance was so fond of doing during his Garrison days) and the professors were all supposed to be at home. Any on-campus staff were probably at their on-campus housing, meaning Lance was the only one awake for miles. The resounding thud of his rubber soles on the building floor echoed the empty halls, really solidifying just how lonely he was.

“Well, colleague or not, I’m always on your side over Iverson’s, buddy,” Lance retorted, muffling a yawn. “Although, it is generally frowned upon to beat up an old man.”

“Well, if the old man is guilty of being a dick, I think we can make an exception.”

Lance—whether it be because of how tired he was, or how many of his kids Iverson had emotionally hurt, or even just the deep-rooted longing he had for  _ Keith _ —burst into laughter. Actual tears were forming in the corners of his eyes as he used the nearby wall to hold him steady. 

“God, I miss you,” Lance finally said, uncaring of his voice crack or emotionally-charged tone.

Keith paused as if he was taken by surprise. “I miss you too, Lance,” he finally said, voice heavy like the night.

“Any plans to visit soon? I know Shiro’s been missing your mullet too,” Lance said, pushing back from the wall. Walking seemed to help the emotional heaviness he was feeling, allowing him to process it and not just burst into tears in the middle of the Garrison hallway. Even if nobody saw him, that would’ve been pathetic to even do.

“Well, the Blade hasn’t seen any Galra-sympathizer activity in at least a few phoebs, and Krolia has been pushing me to take a break soon—”

“You should come spend your vacation days here,” Lance interrupted. 

“At...the Garrison?”

“No—I mean on Earth, dumbass,” Lance huffed, smiling fondly. “Shiro and Adam have been dying to see you, and Matt and Pidge are returning at the end of the month for a while. Allura and Coran are coming up in a few weeks too to discuss aid for New Altea, and Hunk’s scheduled to be back from Shay’s Balmera around then, too, so it’ll be a whole reunion!”

“And you?”

Lance paused, faltering to a stop. “Uh, well, I’m always here, dude. Nothing special about that. But, yeah, and me.”

“Lance, you’re special,” Keith said, his tone exasperated in only a way a friend could be. “And, that sounds like a perfect plan. I just have one, tiny problem with it.”

Lance frowned, ignoring his rising blush at Keith’s previous comment. “What? If we need to move things around or have people stay a few weeks longer I can—”

A voice—Keith’s voice—echoed down the hallway from behind Lance. “What if I’m a little early?” 

Lance’s eyes widened as he whipped around, to be met with the sight of Keith standing a few feet away from him in flesh and blood. Lance knew he was gaping like a fish, staring at his friend while Keith hung up and pocketed his universally-transmitting communicator. He had a duffel bag on his shoulder and was dressed in his familiar leather jacket instead of his Blade uniform, meaning he’d had enough time to change before he scared the living daylights out of Lance.

“You—you jerk!” Lance exclaimed, rushing to give him a hug. Keith only laughed as Lance near-tackled him with the tightest hug he’s ever given, joining in on the laughter. Despite it being years since Lance was taller than Keith, he always found himself pleasantly surprised at the slight advantage the taller boy had on him, refusing to acknowledge how it made their hugs all the more satisfying to Lance. 

“Hey, Lance,” Keith replied good-naturedly, dropping his bag to return the hug properly. The two stood in silence for a long moment, basking in the fact that they were actually together in person after such a long time. 

“You’re an actual bastard, you know that?” Lance exclaimed, pulling away. He held onto his friend’s shoulders, keeping him at arm’s length. He scanned his face, noticing an almost healed bruise at the corner of his jaw and no new scars of note. It was always like that with Keith—Lance would always scan his friend’s face for new mementos of his dangerous adventures, chastising him for the latent worry he evoked or laughing at whatever hot-headed altercation landed Keith with another marred patch of skin. Keith, for his part, had gotten used to Lance’s routine check-ups, rolling his eyes as Lance’s gaze roved any exposed skin for any new marks.

“I mean,” Keith started with a shrug, “technically, I am—”

Lance huffed, shoving Keith. “Oh my god, that stopped being funny the first twenty times, you jackass.”

Keith laughed, feeding into their familiar teasing. “I’m just saying…”

“What are you doing here?” Lance asked, snapping back to reality. “I mean, not that I’m  _ not _ glad you’re here, or whatever, but—this is a little out of the blue, you know? Like, not that you  _ need _ a reason to visit, just—”

“It’s...a long story, Lance,” Keith cut him off with. “I, well…”

Lance let Keith collect his words. A few years ago he might’ve regarded the other man’s silence as awkward and felt the need to fill it in with nonsensical rambling, but being Keith’s friend meant he understood his need to formulate what he wanted to say first before he blurted something out. It was the volatile mix of Keith’s unintentionally caustic remarks and Lance’s incessant need to control the conversation that led to so many of their blow-outs over the year. 

But, becoming Keith’s right hand and, eventually, one of his closest confidants allowed for both boys to learn how to navigate each other’s minefield of issues. Lance learned that Keith was just awkward and Keith learned that Lance just had the proclivity to put his foot in his mouth. It wasn’t long before they found themselves on the same page, petty arguments long behind the. Well, maybe not  _ all _ petty arguments, if last week’s hour-long debate on which one of their extra-terrestrial friends would be the perfect apocalypse partner was any indicator.

( _ “Keith, you’re so freaking dumb! If you think anyone  _ but _ Krolia would be the best choice in a classic zombie apocalypse then, well, the zombies deserve to fucking eat your brains!” _

_ “I refuse to live through the apocalypse with only my estranged mother for company, Lance!” _

_ “It’s not about your relationship to the person, but, like, who’s more craftier!” _

_ “And you’re gonna tell me that Sven and alternate-reality Slav wouldn’t absolutely kick-ass in a dystopian scenario?” _

_ “First of all, that’s cheating ‘cause you’re picking two people! Second of all, I was talking about  _ this reality _ , so they don’t count! And THIRD OF ALL—” _

_ “—That’s too many ‘of all’s—” _

_ “DON’T INTERRUPT ME WHEN I’M RANTING! Third of all, Sven is alternate-reality Shiro, and we agreed on no paladins!”) _

“I just needed a break,” Keith admitted, grimacing at some thought. “I know Krolia basically forced me to take a break, but I caved, like, almost immediately and came straight here.”

Lance nodded, tamping down the bubbly feeling in his heart. “Oh, makes sense. I’m glad she finally got through to you.”

“Wasn’t that hard,” Keith huffed, his tone uncharacteristically fond. “I haven’t seen Shiro and Adam in forever, and Romelle’s been begging me to come visit while she and Allura were docked here on Earth…”

Keith paused, meeting Lance’s attentive gaze head-on. “And, I missed you,” he said easily with a half-smile. It was so soft and so  _ Keith _ that Lance ignored the blood rising to his cheeks and let the wide smile he was suppressing unfurl on his face. He probably looked a little manic, with his sunken eyes and his large grin, but he was too tired to play coy and uncaring when Keith—who was supposed to be light-years, or light-deca-phoebes, away and so,  _ so _ out of reach—was standing in front of him with that bashful grin and a brightness to his eyes that just wasn’t visible through the communicator screen.

“I missed you too, buddy,” Lance retorted, matching his bashful gaze with one of his own. Lance was thankful Keith met him in the middle of the night, when the halls were empty and they could be as awkwardly cheesy as they wanted without the distant formality that comes with waking hours. It was kinda perfect.

Keith cleared his throat, glancing away for a moment before returning his gaze. “Actually, I had another reason for coming. Here, specifically, actually.”

“Oh, really?” Lance responded, shifting his weight. “What’s up?”

“Well, I actually need you to come with me before I tell you,” Keith replied, crossing his arms self-consciously. Lance frowned at the shift in tone.  _ Keith? Self-conscious? _ Those were two phrases he’d never in his life associate with one another. But this felt... _ different _ .

“Like, right now?” Lance asked, glancing at his watch. It was a quarter till five in the morning, and Lance was egregiously behind on his paperwork. He was planning on pulling an all-nighter to minimize his delays for tomorrow, but even if he didn’t take a break now with Keith he’d still be so far behind where he wanted to be.

“Yeah,” Keith said, grabbing one of Lance’s hands and tugging him along. “Don’t think too hard on it, McClain. You can afford to take a little break.”

“Uh, I don’t think you understand just how much paperwork I have left to finish, mullet,” Lance sputtered, catching up to walk beside Keith, ignoring their gently clasped hands. He wasn’t putting up the slightest amount of a fight, allowing himself to be led to the nearest exit. “I know your post-war job is all guts and glamor and you get to live out all your pre-pubescent action-hero dreams—”

“—what—?” Keith chuckled.

“But some of us got boring desk jobs that require us to sit in an uncomfortable chair and force ourselves to read document after document to make sure nobody is cheated out of a proper reparation settlement,” Lance finished, haughtily staring straight ahead. “And you kidnapping me in the middle of the night—”

“—I’d hardly call you a  _ kid _ —”

“—only means someone’s going to have to wait a lot longer than they already have to for a permit for reconstruction!”

Keith rolled his eyes, used to Lance’s dramaticisms. “I’m sure whoever is depending on you and your ability to go through mounds of paperwork can wait one more day while you take a well-deserved break, instead of churning through the night and inevitably passing out in the middle of your work.”

“Uh, if anyone’s passing out tonight it’s you, buddy! I have had, like, three pots worth of coffee—”

“—Jesus, Lance! What the fu—”

“—AND it’s mamá’s special blend from Cuba, so you  _ know _ it’s hella strong—”

“—how are you even alive—”

“—so  _ I’m _ not gonna be sleeping on the job anytime soon, pal!”

Keith just sighed, turning to the unlocked door he probably came through. Lance followed him outside, waiting for him to lock the doors again (he must’ve stopped by Shiro’s to get his keys, unless he somehow just has a set of faculty skeleton keys—which, Lance wouldn’t really put past him). Lance turned, stopping again when he caught sight of Keith’s transportation.

“No. Freaking. Way!” Lance shouted, uncaring of his volume anymore. “You’ve gotta be shitting me!”

Keith chuckled, following his hyper friend as he ran towards the familiar red and white hovercraft. The paint was familiarly chipped and the dents seemed to be filled with the same red sand as the desert they were in and Lance was transported back in time five years and they were about to escape with Shiro from the Garrison officials. He reached out to touch the warm metal, fingers running over the familiar grooves. He looked up when Keith reached his side, waiting patiently for Lance to soak it all in.

“How the hell is this thing still working?” Lance remarked as he continued his cursory inspection of the machine.

“I don’t really know,” Keith replied, turning away from Lance. “Pidge found it a while back while they searched the desert for alien debris a few years ago. Last time I visited, they returned it to me with a new motor and a bunch of upgrades that made it functional again despite the years of disuse. They said it was my birthday present for the next few years as long as it still ran.”

“Well, now, that’s just a cop-out,” Lance chuckled, turning back to his friend. “But, they totally deserve it if they got this hunk of junk to work again.”

Keith rolled his eyes, climbing into the driver’s seat. “This ‘hunk of junk’ is what saved your ass from the Garrison almost five years ago. I’d treat her with a little more respect, if I were you.”

“Actually, if I’m recalling things correctly, this heap of scrap metal and your fancy flying almost got us killed that night! You’re lucky I was backseat driving so you didn’t crash into a canyon.”

“Oh yeah, because it was such an important job to yell ‘watch out!’ while I dove between bullets with five people on a hovercraft that was meant for, like, two, at most.”

“Oh, please! With all your swerving you would’ve lost, like, three passengers within a minute! If I wasn’t there to literally hold onto the rest of them, they’d have been pancakes in the Sonoran desert and Voltron wouldn’t even be here!”

Keith laughed, finally breaking their playful argument. “Alright, fine, you win. Now would you get on, already? We don’t have time to waste.”

“On the contrary,  _ I _ don’t have time to waste—whereas  _ you _ , being here on vacation and all, probably have all the time in the world—”

“Lance.” Keith extended an arm, beckoning Lance with his sharp gaze to just  _ shut up and get on, already _ .

Lance furrowed his eyebrows, glancing back at the doors behind him.  _ Screw it _ . Lance grabbed Keith’s outstretched arm, swinging himself into the seat behind him. There was a belt to strap him into the seat, which Lance snorted at as he buckled himself in. With the way Keith flew, his only shot at surviving those speeds was to just hang onto the reckless driver for dear life. Lance wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Alright, mullet,” Lance said, wrapping his arms around his friend’s waist letting his chin dig into his shoulder. “Where are you whisking me away to in the middle of the night?”

Keith laughed, handing Lance an extra pair of goggles to wear. “First of all, wear these. Second of all, it’s a surprise, so sit tight.”

“Wait, I didn’t sign up for a  _ surprise _ ,” Lance argued, snapping the goggles into place. “And what if I need to, like, pee? I don’t know how long it’s gonna take to get there, or if there’ll even be a bathroom once we are. Also, how do I know you’re not just planning on murdering me and dropping my body in the middle of the desert so nobody ever finds out, hm?”

Keith groaned, rubbing his face with his gloved hands. “Lance, if I wanted to kill you I’d have already done it one of the multiple times I visited you over the years, you absolute drama queen. And, do you need to go to the bathroom right now?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Then sit tight and just trust me,” Keith finished, pulling Lance’s arms around him again and reaching to rev the engine. 

Lance smirked out of Keith’s sight, bringing his chin back down on his shoulder, comforted by the familiar rev of the loud engine. “Alright,” he replied simply, relaxing. “I trust you, Keith.”

“Good,” the man in question said, turning slightly to catch Lance’s eye. “Ready?”

Lance’s smirk morphed into a full-blown smile as he tightened his grip. “With you at the helm? Terrified.”

~`~

Despite Lance’s best efforts to stay awake, the continuous cool breeze around him and Keith’s warmth plastered against his front lulled him into a gentle half-sleep as Keith flew him god-knows-where. He was partially aware of the change in weather, drier skies giving way to something balmier, and his arms had involuntarily tightened until they seemed to become a permanent fixture at Keith’s waist, ensuring he didn’t fly off halfway through the ride. But, while he tried to keep his eyes open to gaze at the stars from a distance closer than he’d been in years, they decided to actively work against his brain and fell close after a valiant effort of two minutes. The gentle rumble of the machine under him and the slow rise and fall of Keith’s chest under his arms were the only things he partially-unconscious mind seemed to be aware of as his brain went into standby mode.

“Lance?” Keith’s voice uttered, penetrating the cloudy haze of his almost-slumber. “Did you actually fall asleep, back there?”

Lance mumbled incoherently, frowning at the disturbance. His vice-like grip around Keith’s waist only tightened as he nuzzled into the crook of his shoulder and neck. “Five more minutes.”

Unfortunately, Keith either didn’t hear him or ignored his request as he nudged Lance awake. Lance fought to try and go back to sleep, only to be woken with an unexpected and sharp poke to his side, jerking his body upright. Lance was definitely awake, but he was also startled and still groggy, meaning he flopped pathetically to the side with a yelp in his attempt to get away from Keith’s pokey fingers. The seatbelt kept him attached to the cruiser so he didn’t fall headfirst to the ground, but Keith hauled him upright to help him out.

“Ugh, I wasn’t asleep,” Lance muttered, rubbing the not-sleep from his eyes. “Just for the record.”

“Uh-huh,” Keith assured, sliding off the cruiser and holding out a hand for his friend. “You definitely weren’t asleep, with your eyes closed, for the whole hour-long ride here, completely silent.”

“Oh, hush,” Lance retorted, accepting the hand blindly and hopping down. The first thing he noticed was how the ground seemed to swallow his feet, allowing him to sink into it. The second thing he noticed was the sharp smell of salt and sea, causing him to jerk his eyes open. Gone was the rough, sandy terrain of the desert, replaced with the cool, sultry breeze of the California coastline. Lance knew it wasn’t Varadero—because Varadero always felt like coming home, like how he felt with Blue—but for a moment, in the haze of sleeplessness and under the guise of the winter night, he could almost pretend like it was. The beach was deserted, but if Lance closed his eyes he could almost hear the whispers of kids shrieking and music playing as the beach scene came to life.

“I figured you haven’t been to a beach in a while, since you’ve been so swamped with work,” Keith muttered beside him, allowing Lance to revel in the quiet atmosphere. “Varadero would’ve been my first choice, but it’s a little farther than California and I didn’t wanna—”

“Keith?” Lance interrupted, turning to his friend. Keith stopped his nervous ramble, freezing beside Lance. He looked so out of place here, in his leather jacket and combat boots, a dark smudge against the bright sand and waves. But with his long hair whipping around his face, and his cosmic eyes reflecting the stars above, and his pale skin washed out in the light of the moon—Keith looked absolutely angelic right then. And Lance knew Keith wasn’t entirely human, was part Galra and all that. But right then, his otherworldly looks could only be described as ethereal.

Lance’s face, which had fallen slack at the sight of the ocean at first glance, twisted into a smile that seemed to shine more from his eyes than his curved mouth. “Thank you.”

Keith blinked, looking away quickly. “It’s—you’re welcome, Lance.”

Lance turned back to the empty beach, taking his first step towards the tides. One step turned into two, his pace picking up, until he was running full speed towards the ocean. A boisterous laugh broke the silence and Lance was only partially aware that it came from him. Another voice joined the fray as Keith bounded after him, laughing just as loudly. Lance’s shoes were the first to be thrown aside, followed swiftly by his Garrison uniform pants and shirt. Lance dove straight into the freezing waves, ignoring Keith’s haphazard warnings from the coast’s edge. It was like striking a match, the sudden rush of iciness characteristic of the ocean under the moon. It only lasted for a second, the water spirit of Blue soothing his body while Red’s fiery spirit warmed him up. He could barely hear Keith’s muffled shouts from underwater as he let the tides pull and push him against the coast. Even when he resurfaced, teeth only chattering mildly, Lance only had eyes for the night sky above him.

“You’re gonna freeze to death, idiot!” a voice shouted after a moment. Breaking the spell, Lance shifted his gaze from the endless expanse of stars to the lone figure of Keith on the beach. He was still in most of his clothes, but barefoot at the coastline. He’d gathered all of Lance’s clothes, which the latter had literally thrown to the wind in exhilaration, and was waiting a few feet away from the water with what looked like a picnic basket in hand.

“Is that a picnic basket?” Lance shouted over the crashing of the tide, cupping his hands to help his voice travel. “Are you planning on wining and dining me under the stars, mullet?”

Even from a distance, Lance knew Keith was rolling his eyes. “Unfortunately, Shiro and Adam locked their liquor cabinet after the last time I snuck out some of their booze, so that’s an ixnay on the wining.” 

Lance laughed, remembering their covert, drunken heist from months ago. “And the dining?”

Keith shrugged, waving the basket in front of him. “Guess you’ll have to come over here and find out!”

Lance laughed, pushing his hair out of his face. “Alright, fine! But you gotta join me here first,” he shouted back, pointing to the water. “The water’s great! Come right in!”

Keith shook his head vehemently, backing away as if Lance would somehow be able to pull him in from thirty feet away. “Like hell the water’s great! It’s winter, Lance! And the middle of the night. You should be freezing your ass off!”

“Well, if you come join me, I promise I won’t let you freeze to death!”

“Fuck, no! Get your ass back here!” Keith shouted back, pulling an honest-to-god red and white checkered picnic blanket from the basket. Spreading it out far enough from the tide so that it wouldn’t get wet, but close enough to bask in the ocean-atmosphere, Keith plopped himself down and set the basket next to him, ignoring Lance’s incessant pleas to get in the water.

Lance huffed dramatically at Keith’s faux-stoic disposition, swimming back to land. The cool air hit him hard as he stepped out of the water, making his chattering more pronounced. He locked his jaw and stifled his shivers as he walked toward Keith, refusing to admit defeat.

Keith pulled out a blue towel from the basket, tossing it at Lance’s advancing figure. “This is a peace offering, so you don’t try and drag me to the water fully-clothed.”

Lance chuckled, snapping his fingers exaggeratedly. “Ah, darn. You’ve foiled my evil plan.” Keith rolled his eyes as Lance dried himself off and wrapped the towel around him. Plopping on the other side of the basket, Lance turned to Keith, finding his gaze already on him.

“Thanks,” Lance said, gesturing with his head to their surroundings. “For all of this. I...really needed a break.”

Keith shook his head, handing Lance the leather jacket he was wearing. “Stop thanking me, Lance. You’ve done the same for me, like, a million times.”

Lance frowned, halfway through putting on the jacket (and staunchly ignoring how it smelled like Keith and was still warm from his body heat). “Uh, when?”

“Like, all the time on the Castle of Lions? I swear, if you weren’t there to, like, reign me in or pull me out of a meeting whenever things were stressing me out, we definitely wouldn’t have gotten all the allies we did,” Keith said, a reminiscent look in his eye as he watched the tides. “And then when we got back to Earth, I’d need a dozen pairs of hands to count how many times you talked me down from punching some admiral who kept trying to stall things for ‘protocol’ when we were literally in the middle of being invaded by an evil, intergalactic empire.

“And, I know you don’t really count this but, all the times you let me visit and just hang out when I needed a break from Kolivan and the Blade? Probably more times than how many realities there are.”

“Keith, there are, like, an infinite number of reali—”

“Hyperbole, Lance,” Keith cut him off, throwing him a flat look as if Lance was missing the point.

Lance threw him an equally flat look, blowing a raspberry at his face. “That’s just what friends do, Keith. And, like, for most of those situations—it was just the least violent option, so, again, not as big a deal as you’re making it out to be. I didn’t  _ fly halfway across the universe because Hunk told me you were pulling an all-nighter _ —”

“Stop trying to equate acts of kindness, idiot,” Keith exclaimed, shoving Lance. “I have no doubt in my mind that you’d have done the same under the equivalent circumstances, and have done a shitton more over the years, so just, take my attempt at a kind gesture, or whatever.”

Lance wanted to continue arguing with Keith that he was selling himself too short, or that he was making a bigger deal out of what Lance did for him. Sure, he’d perfected the art of talking Keith down before he did something rash or exploded from feeling an emotion, but that’s just Lance’s  _ thing _ . He was a naturally empathetic person, so it was naturally his job to make sure his team was emotionally okay. He checked in on Hunk, Allura, Pidge, Coran, and even Clone Shiro when he was around just as much as he’d checked in on Keith. Keith just...happened to be more prone to emotionally-charged outbursts back then. 

As much as Lance wanted to argue that him doing his job wasn’t anything special, something told him Keith wouldn’t back down in his appraisal. And while he was always down for a long, drawn-out argument with Keith, Lance decided to take the easy route that night and bask in the calm ambiance of the beach under the stars. But although he let that subject drop, he was still curious about other things. 

“You told me you came out here for a reason other than missing the team,” Lance said plainly, looking away from Keith’s profile. It was really hard to forget how handsome he was when he looked like  _ that _ under the whimsical light of the moon. Distance making the heart grow fonder was bullshit when it came to people like Keith, who only seemed to take Lance’s breath away more every time he came back. One day Lance wasn’t going to have any air left in his lungs at this rate.

“Yeah,” Keith replied softly, eyes downcast. 

Lance waited a respectable minute for Keith to continue or to build up the nerve—to just say something. When the second minute passed and he had yet to hear an utterance from the man next to him, Lance focused his gaze back on Keith.

“You gonna tell me sometime tonight?” Lance joked, nudging his friend out of whatever stupor he seemed to be in. Keith didn’t physically flinch, but the quick darting of his eyes signified he was startled enough at the touch.

“Uh, yeah!” he said, a little too loudly. Clearing his throat, he explained, “I just need a...second or two.”

Lance nodded reassuringly, plastering the softest smile he could muster. “Sure thing, buddy. Take all the time you need. No worries.”

Lance swallowed the small lump in his throat that told him he should worry. This sounded serious, but he could trust Keith with whatever he had to say. It’s not like he flew halfway across the universe to gently let Lance down after figuring out he had the hugest, most massive, borderline obsessive crush on him and didn’t reciprocate it because Keith was waaaaay out of his league or anything. Because, that would be a little too specific, even for Lance’s anxieties. Right? 

Unless that was exactly what was happening because Hunk or Allura—or even Romelle, through proxy—accidentally let it slip that Lance’s has been desperately in love with Keith since god knows when and, being Lance’s best friend, he decided to nip this infatuation in the bud as quickly and painlessly as possible to preserve their ultimate friendship. Because, Keith was the type of person to face his challenges head-on, and Lance’s erratic emotions possibly compromising their friendship would definitely be a challenge Keith would see to it to overcome as quickly as possible.

But, well, he’s still  _ Keith _ . Which means he’s still Lance’s best friend (and vice versa), and even if he was here to reject Lance’s unrequited, impossible romance, he’s not an asshole. So, whatever happens, Lance was secure with the knowledge that Keith would stick by his side no matter how awkward things were bound to get between them. And, maybe an actual, blatant rejection would spur Lance’s obsessive heart to genuinely, finally move on. Win-win!

Lance continued to spiral, letting his thoughts become so loud, that he almost missed Keith’s voice.

“Voltron was the best thing to happen to me,” Keith stated, plainly and truly in a way that was just, so,  _ Keith _ . “I...With Shiro gone, my reputation ruined, and the Garrison, well, booting me, I was more alone than I ever was before.”

Lance wrapped Keith’s jacket tighter, patiently listening to him sort out and say all the things he had planned to say. Keith was looking ahead, a crinkle between his thick eyebrows and his signature pout visible in the moonlight. Lance has never been more enamored.

Keith continued as if he didn’t pause. “But, Voltron gave me Shiro back. It gave me a reputation, a purpose, a sense of honor...but most importantly it gave me a family. You already know my dad died when I was young, and I didn’t have Krolia in the picture until, like, a few years ago. So, team Voltron—Allura, Coran, Hunk, Pidge, Shiro...you—y’all were my family. Are my family, I mean. 

“When I left the team to work with the Blade full-time, it broke me. I...had my reasons for going then, which—looking back now—stemmed from some misplaced valor or something equally stupid. And, while I don’t regret it because it allowed me to meet Krolia and Romelle, and even Kosmo, I was at my lowest when I was away from you guys. For years, I thought I’d never understand what it meant to miss someone, because, for the longest time, I never had anyone to miss, you know? And then Kerberos happened, and I thought I understood what missing someone meant—how it could break a person to be separated from someone they love.

“But then I made the active decision to leave you guys and it made me realize just how much it hurt to miss family. I finally understood how you felt, millions of lightyears away from Varadero Beach and your mom’s garlic knots and home. That, on top of the whole space war—it was not a good time for me. Romelle and Krolia noticed that after a while, when they saw snippets of my past in the Quantum Abyss. I think it got so bad sometimes that they could feel it, too.”

Keith paused again, this time blinking rapidly as if to staunch any wayward tears from escaping. He huffed, just inaudibly, as if he was shaking himself out of a bad mood. Lance made note of every twitch and shift Keith made. Despite all the years they’ve been friends, Keith was still reticent with his emotions. Sure, Lance knew how to read him now, and yes Keith had divulged the worst of his past over the course of their friendship, but there were always things Lance found out anew that made him want to hold Keith forever and never let go, for fear that the universe would try anything. 

Lance, despite his better judgment, reached out and held Keith’s hand closest to him, squeezing gently. A soft reassurance to continue, that Lance has got him, that everything would be okay. Keith’s face softened into a smile, obviously aimed at Lance even though he couldn’t bring himself to meet his gaze. It wasn’t a rejection, which was all Lance needed to carry on.

“Thanks,” the darker-haired man sniffled. “I’m...trying to get better at the whole, emotions thing. It’s definitely a, uh, process, heh.”

Lance squeezed his hand again, shuffling infinitesimally closer. “I think you’re doing a wonderful job. Teenaged-you wouldn’t even believe you’re the same person.”

Keith huffed, closing his eyes as if to imagine. “Teenaged-me wouldn’t believe a lot of things about the future.”

“Like the whole space-war galactic-invasion situation? Or that he’ll pilot not one, but two giant, sentient, robot cat machines?”

Keith chuckled, finally meeting Lance’s gaze. “Nah. Robot cat machines, space war? Teenaged-me was a hardcore conspiracy theorist—he’d eat that shit up. No, I don’t think he’d believe that he’d get as happy of an ending I got.”

Lance frowned. “Like, winning the war?”

“Like finding a home,” Keith corrected, squeezing Lance’s hand back. And Lance shouldn’t be reading into it—Keith’s tone, the hand squeezing, the infinity of his indigo eyes—but it’s so hard to tell his romantically-inclined heart to  _ be fucking still _ when it seems so easy to fall deeper in love with this sappy fool.

“Oh,” Lance managed to reply with. He snapped his mouth shut before he could confess any undying love he felt for the man in front of him, saving that embarrassment for when Keith wasn’t actually being emotionally vulnerable.

“Yeah,” Keith repeated, glancing away and back. This time, his searing gaze seemed to steel, as if he was forcing himself to look Lance in the eyes. That didn’t bode well with Lance’s anxieties. Keith continued as if he hadn’t cut himself off. “About a year ago, Krolia pulled me aside and told me she was worried about me. She said a bunch of things that I kinda brushed off then, but…

“Ever since we reunited, Krolia was adamant I left the Blade. At first, I thought it was some weird, overprotective, mother thing that she felt like she needed to catch up on after not acknowledging my existence for eighteen years. But, the thing about the Blades is...family doesn’t mean the same thing for them. They’re big on community and camaraderie, and there are some people I met through them that I know I’ll be friends with for life. But they’re also a cause-over-the-individual type of group. And I thought that’s what Krolia was afraid of at first, that she’d find herself in a position where she’d have to give up her son again—but for good this time.”

Lance inhaled sharply, remembering Naxela. He hadn’t known until years later, but the knowledge that Keith could’ve actually died during that battle haunted him with nightmares for months after they talked about it.

“But,” Keith resumed, “she met you guys, and she saw that I had people who were waiting for me to come home. Just like I waited for her, years ago, when she was the only hope I had for a family. And, I guess something clicked in her brain because she’s been adamant that I leave ever since. 

“It wasn’t a big deal during the war, since I basically came back to Voltron after the whole clone debacle. But when I rejoined the Blade after we officially won...well, Krolia’s been vocally against it. And for a while, it was easy to ignore since we’d been busy with missions and restoration, not to mention the whole Galra stabilization situation. But as the need for the Blade’s kinda died down over the last year, it’s been harder to ignore her.”

Keith shifted, completely facing Lance, cupping his pale hands around Lance’s tan one. “A month ago, she sat me down and asked me, point-blank, if I was happy. And, I had no reason to say no, right? War’s over, threats are neutralizing, my family’s all alive—what more could I want, right? But, I couldn’t help but feel like I was lying to her when I said I was. It was like, everything was finally calm, but there was still this raging turmoil in me that seemed to wax and wane, like perpetual mood swings, or something.

“It wasn’t until she asked me about you—you guys, the team, that I realized I was missing y’all more than ever. I missed annoying Shiro, and listening to Pidge ramble, and learning new recipes from Hunk, and braiding Allura’s hair, and trying to understand Coran’s weird anecdotes…

“And just being with you.” 

Remember when Lance said he wasn’t going to be left with any air in his lungs? The look in Keith’s eyes seemed to punch him in the gut just hard enough to release any last vestiges of oxygen he had in his respiratory system. If Lance took even a single breath, it felt like the world was going to shatter. 

“Krolia told me that I owed it to myself to be happy. She may be my mom, but we’ve grown as people without each other, and trying to force that relationship right now just won’t work. She’ll always be an important person in my life, but I don’t need a mom anymore. But you guys? Voltron? Romelle and Kosmo and Adam and Coran? You guys are family. And, if something happened to me out there, on some random mission, I would hate for you guys to find out from an automated message Kolivan will send when it’s too late. You guys deserve better than that, and I deserve to ask for better than that too.

“I know I told you I was here on vacation, but it’s more like an indefinite sabbatical,” Keith explained, tugging nervously on the hair at the nape of his neck. “I’ve already talked to Kolivan and Krolia, and they agree that I’ve done enough for the foreseeable future to deserve a break from the Blade. So, yeah. I’m moving on, basically.”

All the air Lance couldn’t breathe a minute ago filled his lungs all at once. He gasped, his grip on Keith’s hand tightening. Keith’s eyes widened, his eyes skirting over Lance’s shocked, for-once inexpressive face. 

“Holy shit, dude,” Lance finally says, relinquishing his tight grip on Keith’s hand and grabbing him by the shoulders. “Holy. Fucking. Shit.”

“Um, I can’t tell if that’s a good response or a bad one, Lance,” Keith replied, placing his hands on Lance’s on his shoulders. He looked almost wary, seeking stability in Lance’s steely hold.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT, KEITH!” Lance practically screamed, laughing and shaking the bewildered man by his shoulders. “THIS IS THE BEST NEWS I’VE LITERALLY EVER HEARD, MAN!”

“Better than the war being over?” Keith chuckled, allowing Lance to continue shaking him vigorously as if he wasn’t aware of how big of a deal this was. Judging by his lack of excitement—unlike Lance, who was positively brimming with happiness—he probably wasn’t aware of how big of a deal this was to Lance.

“CLOSE SECOND, WHATEVER,” Lance shrieked, laughing at Keith’s bemused eye roll. “Dude! This is huge! Oh my god, you have to come back to Earth! Like, I know you didn’t mention where you were planning on settling down—and thanks to Allura and Team Punk, you can practically wormhole anywhere so, like, travel isn’t  _ really _ an issue if you were thinking about staying on New Altea, or Olkarion, or somewhere else—but, like, it would be so cool if we were just a quick drive away, right? And you’d have Shiro and Adam, and Romelle visits all the time so—”

“Lance, of course I’m coming back to Earth,” Keith shouted over his rambling, forcing Lance’s hands to still on his shoulders. “Why would I live anywhere else?”

Lance shrugged, not even attempting to hide his ecstatic grin. “I don’t know—curiosity, maybe.”

“Yeah, because I am sooo the type of person who wants to live on some random planet in a galaxy far, far away.”

“Hey, it’s plausible, Mr. Lived-In-A-Shack-With-Only-Conspiracies-To-Keep-Him-Company!”

“If it weren’t for my ‘conspiracies’, we never would’ve found Blue!”

“Uh, you mean if I wasn’t so awesome and dazzling and charming, Blue wouldn’t have found her paladin and Voltron wouldn’t have happened!”

Keith scoffed, shoving Lance, who in turn shoved him back, until they were tangled up in the picnic blanket, sand creeping into their clothes, laughing so loud they could probably wake up the entire western seaboard.

“I’m just glad you finally admit you belong with us,” Lance said after they finally settled. They were laying on their sides, much closer than strictly-platonic, thanks to the blanket tangled around them. They didn’t feel the need to move, even going as far as to huddle closer to protect from the windchill of the winter coastal climate. Lance couldn’t look anywhere but at Keith, and vice versa. Although they weren’t touching, they were close enough to feel the other’s heat radiating from their bodies. Lance wasn’t thinking too hard about it.

“I’m glad I did too,” Keith responded, closing his eyes a little. “It wasn’t doing me any good to pretend I was fine, all alone over there.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Lance affirmed, scooting closer. “You belong with me, dummy. Took you a few years, but I’m glad you finally got it through your thick skull before Krolia had to haul you back by the scruff of your mullet.”

Keith’s eyes shot open, a little startled and...a lot hopeful? “With you?”

That’s when Lance rewound the conversation a little bit and froze at his verbal typo. Ah, shit. Not like this.

“With us!” the brunette amended, chuckling nervously. “I totally said ‘with us’, Keith. What, the mullet so thick you can’t even hear right anymore? Hahaha...”

Keith, for all Lance teased his half-Galra genealogy over the years, actually looked as smug as the cat who got the cream. “No—Galra-hearing, remember? And I specifically heard you say—”

“With us!” Lance cut him off hurriedly. “Because that’s what I said! You belong with us, your fellow paladins! Your best buds for life! Your platonic pals who you’re bonded to by ancient, mecha-lion magic! Your—”

Keith cut him off this time, effectively silencing him with a soft kiss. It was barely even a kiss, to be honest, just a quick press of lips against lips, more to stop Lance from rambling. Just as quickly as he moved forward, Keith moved away, Lance frozen and wide-eyed once again (but for an entirely different reason).

“I’d like to belong with you, Lance—you specifically—if you’ll let me,” Keith said simply, his smug grin morphing into an earnest one.

Lance gaped at Keith— _ fucking Keith _ —as he let what had just happened sink in. It was verging on an awkwardly long amount of time, Keith’s earnest grin even began drooping, when Lance snapped out of it.

“You—” he choked, scrambling to hover over Keith. “You, JERK!”

Keith, for his part—now pinned under both Lance’s piercing gaze and body—looked properly terrified. “I—I’m sorry?”

“Keith, you absolute jerk! You just—you smooth bastard, how dare you!”

“Shit, did I completely misread this entire conversation?!” Keith stammered, looking for a possible escape.

Lance didn’t let him get away, however, taking a page out of the stupid-idiot-mullet-headed jerk’s book and cutting him off with a kiss of his own. Unlike Keith, who was uncharacteristically shy with his surprise kiss, Lance had imagined the scenario millions of times in his head. Sure, they’d been throwaway fantasies he refused to think about later, but he knew exactly what he wanted from a first kiss with Keith. And Keith, for his part, was already doing a much better job than Lance did by actually responding, moving his lips against the ebb and flow of Lance’s. 

It didn’t get too heated, since they were stopping and giggling every few seconds like high schoolers instead of the adults they were supposed to be. Lance’s hands found themselves tangled in Keith’s hair, cradling his head in a way he’d always dreamed of. Keith had his arms wrapped around Lance, settling on his lower back and holding him steady against his chest. They were pressed together from forehead to toe, laughing at the incredulity of the whole situation, basking in the euphoria of requited love.

“I fucking hate you, Kogane,” Lance sighed, punctuating it with a peck on the lips. “You can’t be emotionally vulnerable and suave all in one night. Leave something for the rest of us, will you?”

Keith chuckled, causing Lance—who was  _ lying on his chest oh my god _ —to bounce. “I don’t think you understand how long I had to psyche myself up to actually say all of that. Don’t sell yourself short, darling.”

Lance muffled the high-pitch squeal in Keith’s shoulder, shaking his head. “ _ Oh my fucking god, Keith! You can’t just drop pet names like that! _ ” Lance whisper-shouted against his ear.

Keith only laughed harder at Lance’s bashfulness,  _ that fucking asshole _ . He only relented once Lance pretended to get up from his position, allowing the shorter boy a smug victory.

“In all honesty,” Keith confessed, “if you hadn’t slipped up, I don’t know if I’d have kissed you.”

Lance stared into those indigo eyes, tracing the scar on Keith’s cheek like he’d always dreamt of. “Like, even in the future—down the line, in a few years?”

Keith shook his head, mouth quirked awkwardly. “I may be emotionally vulnerable, on the rarest of occasions, but I definitely wouldn’t have ever had the balls to ask you out. Like, I was ready to just pine silently for the rest of our lives.”

Lance frowned, leaning back to straddle Keith sitting up. “Wait, wait, wait. You mean you wouldn’t ever have made a move? Like ever?” Keith shrugged, averting his gaze.

Lance sputtered, yanking Keith to sitting position with a tight grip on his shirt. “So, you’d just pine. Forever. What about, like, moving on to someone else?”

Keith snorted at the mere thought. “Lance, I’ve been in love with you for years. If I was able to move on from you, I think it would’ve happened by now.”

Lance actually squeaked at the confession. “Years?! And you never said anything about it?”

Keith slanted a flat look at the man sitting on him. “Like you’re one to talk.”

“Um, excuse you! I’m the reason we’re together, babe. Uh, you’re fucking welcome!”

“Oh, please. That was totally an accident. You literally, accidentally, put your foot in your mouth. Sure, I’m not complaining, but you can’t take credit for just managing to not have a filter.”

“Look who’s talking, Mr. I’m-gonna-impulsively-kiss-my-crush! You’re, like, the  _ king _ of having no filter!”

Keith smirked, hands circling Lance’s waist again. “So, you admit that me kissing you—thanks to my impulsivity—is the reason we’re together now?”

Lance glared playfully, arms wrapped around Keith’s neck. “Now, you listen here, you piece of—”

He was abruptly cut off by another kiss, which Keith happily provided. Lance knew this was bound to become a habit for Keith to easily win their arguments, but he couldn’t seem to care while he was being thoroughly smooched by the love of his life.

Lance sighed in fond exasperation once they parted, leveling the smirking man with a stare. “If you resort to kissing me to shut me up—”

Lance was definitely gonna kick Keith’s ass if he kept this up. But not today. Or anytime in the foreseeable future, really. Because he really liked kissing this man (which he didn’t think he’d ever get to do in this reality) and Lance wasn’t going to let himself suffer from any masochistic tendencies that involved depriving himself of Keith.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> agh if you read through all of this thank you so much for reading this! i thrive on attention so comment kudos and all that to feed my inner attention whore lol. if there are any mistakes anywhere lemme know cause i cant edit for shit and i was lazy when i glanced over this lol! 
> 
> i firmly reject any universe where everyone isnt alive and happy and stuff because my weak heart cannot deal with angst w/out a shitton of fluff to make up for it, so yeah eveyrones alive (even lotor, tho idk what hes doing so make of that what you will)
> 
> also while i firmly believe that lance would go back to space after spending all the time he needs with his fam on earth, i really liked the idea of him fixing up the garrison and like reclaiming that place where he felt so low in his life and turning it better for the future generation of pilots? idk i remember reading a fic where lance was a counselor at the garrison and was coworkers w/ shiro and i wish for the life of me that i could remember the fic/author to give them credit for such a wonderful idea (because i adored it obviously) so if anyone thinks that rings a bell pls lemme know so i can credit them! 
> 
> anyways, have a great time of day and thanks for reading again!


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